Oct 16, 6:05 pm
It’s amazing what short memories we have. Not so long ago we were complaining bitterly that there weren’t enough games for the 360, that many titles were being delayed and that Live Arcade had such sparse choice that it was never going to fulfil its potential. Reading through the first few issues of various 360 magazines, the struggle to fill the pages was hard to hide. When we first heard about the Wii there was endless guffawing about the stupid name and how it would never sell with such a preposterous moniker. Not only that - we couldn’t see gamers really going for the control system in the long term. It certainly wasn’t going to bring in this whole new imaginary demographic of casual gaming mums, granddads and sophisticated 30 to 40 something’s that Nintendo, in their kooky crazy way, where aiming for.
The thing that turned around the worries of gamers over the new consoles was one thing and one thing alone. It wasn’t the clever launch campaigns or the fancy words of some clever speech writer. It wasn’t shiny adverts and even shiner consoles. It wasn’t clever integration of online elements or motion sensing technology. Let’s say it together folks. It was the games. Good quality, imaginative games that had depth and excitement in spades. As soon as the systems started to build up a canon of strong titles, the previous worries and moans melted away.
It could be argued that people have taken more umbrage with Sony’s marketing strategy and attitude towards the public than the product itself. I question that. If the PS3 was replete with original titles I don’t think people would even notice what Sony had to say about the product, and nor would we be quite as bothered about less than satisfactory cut-price bundles. The fact is that, until now, there haven’t been any really great exclusive PS3 titles. With both Heavenly Sword and Lair proving disappointing, faith in the console has been driven lower and lower. The tide however is beginning to turn.
PS3 owners rejoiced at the release of Warhawk. Finally an entirely ‘Playstation’ game that was exceptional. The Eye of Judgement approacheth. As the strong reviews start rolling in, it looks like yet again Sony’s long standing reputation for creating original Japanese masterpieces of gaming will remain intact. Soon we’ll see the release of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Having played the demo I can say that it is every bit as wonderful as past iterations of the game, while having graphics so beautiful they could bring a tear to your eye.
It’s not just these expected triumphs that may well herald the turn around of the PS3’s fortunes. But out of left field pops Folklore, an absolutely beautiful game with original gameplay, graphics and story. Like the other great titles on the way for the PS3 it’s hard to imagine a game like Folklore on any other console. It’s just so very… playstationy. There’s a finesse of graphics and a quirky but stylish design that you just can’t find anywhere else. In the crossover from the last generation to this I think that distinctly Playstation feel has been forgotten about. But get ready because it’s back and it’s oh so good.
